The Zero Factor...
by Strider Kyoden
Summary: Samus has defeated the Metroids...Defeated Mother Brain. But now she is a normal bounty hunter once again, but what is this thing she has to destroy? A Familiar face will show up...But can Samus destroy it? Metroid/MMX Crossover. Please, R&R! Rated R for
1. Hellish Planet

The Zero Factor...

  
  
**The Zero Factor...**   
_Chapter 1 - Hellish Planet._

  
  
  
  
  


The smell of musty damp air filled her nose through her helmet, She stood there over the dead carcass of that mutated wolve. _Damn..._ She though to herself, her mind racing from one thing to another, Why was she here? She thought she was done after dealing with those god-forsaken metroid. But No, She continued her job, she needed the money to live. Well, no, she didn't need money. She needed a life. And this was her life, the life of a bounty hunter, a cold blooded killer. She breathed in heavily, hearing the light footfalls of more of those god awful wolves. She turned around quickly, seeing the light gleam of their firery eyes in the darkness of this cavern, being deep in the bowels of the planet she turned once again, dashing through this cavern quickly. Moving down as it seemed to get darker and darker, no sounds now except the light chinking of her armour. She began to catch her breath again, but this confused her, there were no monsters or beasts trying to kill her or stop her from getting to the treasure she was to seek out and destroy. This treasure which the man said would 'Kill all human life as we know it!'.

  


She narrowed her eyes, stopping abruptly. _Damn! I didn't notice!!_ She thought to herself, no..The ground had been shaking, not just because of her running, something big was up ahead, Something with alot of power and energy, maybe something that could...could...kill her!? No, That couldn't be! She has never been defeated, the only enemy she has had trouble with was Mother Brain, but she destroyed her. With the assistance of the baby metroid, Even so, she needed help. Maybe she wasn't strong enough? Maybe this would be her death bed!? She shook her head quickly, _No! I won't be defeated!_ She thought and began to dash down the narrow cavern again, now entirely in black, only the infrared spectrum from her visor making it so she could see in this eternal blackness of the planet, her shoulders moving quickly as her legs moved at an amazing rate, as a small light began to grow until it was surrounding her and she was out in a large opening the roof of that cave being very high, a few hundred feet above her, the room being a perfect circle, several hundred feet in diameter also, there were three paths for her to choose, two of which were blocked by fallen earth and rocks. The two that were blocked said 'Zein' and 'Io' the third accessible path said above it 'Zero'. _What is..'Zero'?_ She found herself thinking this over and over, her interest perked, she knew now that some type of being must have been here before hand and had made this cavern, she then ran down the corridor that said 'Zero' as some small little robots that appeared to be wearing hard-hats and having a green plus sign on them sat along the edges, being out of power.

  


Finally she reached the end of that long corridor, blinking as she stood in that small room, a large capsule was there, a deep black capsule, with a bluish forcefield containing whatever was inside, it was completely opaque so she couldn't see what it was, she moved forwards a few steps, looking up at the capsule then down at a small control system next tot he capsule, there was one button..'Release' it said, but should she? She then began to charge her Cannon, the energy building up in the barrel as it began to glow slightly, she was ready for it, She pressed the button and slid backwards, aiming her cannon at the capsule as the forcefield fell...

  
  
  
  
  
  


Thus Ends Chapter 1 Of _'The Zero Factor'_.  
Stay tuned for Chapter 2. 


	2. Enter the Dark Knight

The Zero Factor...

  
  
**The Zero Factor...**   
_Chapter 2 - Enter the Dark Knight._

  
  
  
  
  


The capsule's field slowly subsided, that shadowy figure standing there, the light mist pouring out of the container, the two glowing emerald orbs of it's eyes are all that were visible to her. She still had her cannon charged, locked on the chest of the mist shrouded being, the mist finally dissipated, a man..or so she thought, stood there infront of her, his sleek black armour looking as if it were made from a higher grade metal than her own, she could see the hilt of some type of sword on his back as he stepped out from the capsule, his feet making a light chinking sound as he looks from his left to his right, his soft silver hair flowing over his back as he finally stopped his gaze on Samus. Samus blinked a few times, hesitating because of his sheer handsomeness. But she kept her cannon steady, who was this being, could Zero be his name? The name above the entrance, the room began to shake lightly, she couldn't think, the emotions and thoughts flooding her head, the man rushed across the distance between them quickly, grabbing her by the waist as she fired off her blast, it slamming into the wall and causing the ceiling to fall even quicker, but this man, he was amazing, he dashed right out of the room, the walls and ceiling collapsing behind him, the stern look on his face not leaving for a moment as the were back in the corridor in what seemed like almost instantaneously.

  


The man sat her down as she kneeled there, breathing in heavily, not even considering him a danger...but was he? This snapped her back into reality, she quickly stood up, facing the man. His eyes locked on her helmet, as if he was locking eyes with her. Her soft purple eyes locked onto his, her hands trembled lightly in her armour but he could not sense this because she moved so slightly that it did not move her armour. He paused for a moment, then his lips parted...for the first time he spoke to her.

  
???? - "Who are you."   
  
Samus - "...I am Samus Aran, And who are you!"   
  
???? - "....Zero."   
  
Samus - "Zero, Huh? Well I guess my assumption was right, The name over that passageway was your name. Why are you here?"   
  
Zero - "......."   
  
Samus - "Answer me! Why are you here! What are you!"   
  
Zero - "......."   
  
Samus - "Hmph. Can you only say Zero?"   
  
Zero - "......."   
  
Samus - "I'm taking you in with me to the Galaxy Police."   
  


This seemed to disturb Zero a bit, he then began to move towards her, his movements fluid and sleek, his armour seeming as if it were glowing it shined so brightly. As he neared her, he shot out his arm, she didn't even see it, except a flash of black which knocked her into a nearby wall with a thud. And he moved out of her sight down the tunnel. She cringed and got up muttering "Bastard.." and she took off running behind him, he didn't run, he didn't jog, he was walking! Walking in the bowels of this detestible planet, but..where were the monsters? None were challenging him! He couldn't be that strong! There was no way he could be strong enough to scare them away with his mere prescence. Zero and Samus continued down the passageway as they finally entered a long hallway, metallic, a small door at the end, as they got to the end, the doors slid open, the two of them walking into this room. There was only a computer there, nothing else, Zero walked to the computer swiftly and pressed a few keys on the keyboard, Samus looking over his shoudler...On the monitor was her ship!! Zero pointed to it.

  
Zero - "Is that yours?"   
  
Samus - "...Y-Yeah.."   
  
Zero - "You will take me to Earth."   
  
Samus - "I will not! I will do as I please!"   
  


Zero narrowed his eyes, his voice the same cold tone he had used since she released him from the prison capsule that confined him to his eternal sleep and unconsciousness.

  
Zero - "You will take me to Earth."   
  
Samus - "......."   
  


Zero then pressed another button, the room began to move!! It slammed Samus down to the floor, even with her heavy armour it pressed her flat against the floor and she let out a light Eep. Zero stood perfectly still as the room seemed to stop after a few minutes, the door opened up once more, it seems that this planet was built to allow that room to travel through various passageways throughout the planet, they were on the surface, several hundred meters away was her ship as Zero moved out of the doors, Samus standing up and rushing over to him as they both cleared the distance quickly, reaching her ship as Samus leapt into the air and crouched ontop the entrance as she looked to him.

  
Samus - "Fine...I'll take you."   
  
Zero - "......."   
  


Samus cursed to herself lightly as the platform took her down, once it came back up Zero leapt onto the ship, a blur of silver and black...and those emerald green eyes as he lowered himself down into the ship also, Samus in the cockpit and Zero standing beside the platform, holding onto the back of her seat as she flipped a few switches and headed out of the planet's gravity and atmosphere...Off towards Earth.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Thus Ends Chapter 2 Of _'The Zero Factor'_.  
Stay tuned for Chapter 3. 


	3. Cold and Dark

The Zero Factor...

  
  
**The Zero Factor...**   
_Chapter 3 - Cold and Dark._

  
  
  
  
  


Coldness, Darkness, No sounds except the light breathing heard inside her helmet. Silence...Coldness...Darkness...No movement came from Zero, He seemed to be observing Samus as her fingers and hands moved quickly over the controls, manuvering the ship through the asteroids and avoiding comets and other debris in space. _What the hell is with this guy? Why was he on that planet? Why does he want to go to Earth...And what did Lackey want destroyed on the planet? There was no hostile lifeform._ These thoughts crossed her mind several times as she flew throughout that vast blackness called 'space'. This would be one long and hell of a trip. Then the silence was broken. Zero leaned down slightly, his eyes looking at the controls, his head beside her, his hands placed on the chair back. His hair fluttered lightly infront of him, onto the shoulder of Samus' armour. "When was this made," He said without a hint of emotion like always. She blinked a few times, not understanding the question, but he soon spoke up again, quicker this time, with a bit of irritation in his voice, "When was this made."

  


She looked to her right, looking into those miraculous eyes of his. _They Changed?_ She thought as she studied his eyes. They were shifting in between silver and emerald, but why..She would probably never know. She then spoke up as she saw his lips begin to part, not wanting to upset the man, "A while back." He narrowed his eyes a little at this, not liking the answer, but he would assume that it was only a few years old, maybe five? He nodded slightly as he leaned back again, letting go of the chair back. His cold voice rang out again, splitting the silence, his voice seeming to ring in her ears, "What rank are you." She blinked again, still confused, _What is with this Guy? Wanting all this information..._ She thought. She then spoke up, "I have no Rank, I'm a bounty hunter, I'm not with the police." He shook his head lightly, letting out a cold and almost frightening chuckle, amused at this reploid's personality, yes he did not think she was human because her armour. "No, What rank are you in the Mavericks," He asked again, this time seeming more commanding and malicious.

  


"Ahh...," She said, stumbling over her own words, thinking fast. _What do I say...Damn...Don't piss him off, you can't fight back in the ship..._ She thought. "...Rookie," She replied, quickly recovering her tone, that cold muffled metallic tone making her sound almost like Zero but in a lighter tone since she is a woman, not giving away that she is human. Zero folded his arms over his chest again slowly, shutting his eyes, not wishing to see any more of this base scenery of the ship. Samus looked over her shoulder, letting out an inaudible sigh of relief. Her gaze shifted down to the control panel once more, on the screen displayed her destination and distance remaining. _Damn...Two more hours._ She thought. She then let out a heavy sigh, forgetting for a moment that he was there, but he didn't seem to notice or care, after all, she was only a severly outdated and poorly built reploid, Unlike himself. Minutes passed slowly, as if time would all together stop as they flew through that cold vastness of space, that eternal blackess, only a glimmer of a distant ship every once and a while caught Samus' attention to destroy the boredom for a few seconds. Finally, she saw on her monitor, Earth, she smiled lightly to herself, Zero seeming as if he were sleeping as she then shifted her weight lightly, leaning forwards a bit, heading for Earth.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Thus Ends Chapter 3 Of _'The Zero Factor'_.  
Stay tuned for Chapter 4. 


	4. Blue Planet

The Zero Factor...

  
  
**The Zero Factor...**   
_Chapter 4 - Blue Planet._

  
  
  
  
  


The screen lit up the area slightly as she looked at it, coming closer and closer to Earth with each passing second as she pushed the ship a bit faster, hitting the Earth's atmosphere quickly as she came down into the planet's gravity, slinging her ship across the surface of the ocean quickly, she wondered though, where should she take him? She decided to stop by Japan, a place in which many people like. She adjusted the controls slightly, the ship leveling out, Zero still not moving, seeming like a statue, and she blazed over the water, it parted to the left and right as she went over the water quickly. Finally the island of Japan was seen in the horizon, the image began to grow larger and larger at quite an amazing rate as they finally reached the island, landing a few miles away from the beach, near a small town on the outskirts of the island.

  


Samus stood up slowly, moving out of the chair as she moved to the lift slowly, giving Zero a questioning glance, and they both went up on the lift. Zero leapt into the air as soon as the lift stopped, coming down on the ground in a crouch as he looked around, Samus leaping off after him as he looked at her over his shoulder. "Where are we," He seemed to ask in a demanding tone. She moved back a few feet, still not accustomed to being bossed around, especially by people she didn't even know! "J-Japan," She replied simply, the stutter sounding like a simple program glitch in that metallic tone from her helm. Zero laughed lightly, slightly amused by this now 'defective' reploid which was showing him around. "Let's head into town," Samus said lightly, motioning to Zero as she began to walk towards the village which was only a few miles away. "My sentiments exactly..," He said maliciously to himself.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Thus Ends Chapter 4 Of _'The Zero Factor'_.  
Stay tuned for Chapter 5. 


	5. Malicious Intent

  
  
**The Zero Factor...**   
_Chapter 5 - Malicious Intent._

  
  
  
  
  


The trek to the near-by city on the island of Japan took Zero and Samus only a short time. As they neared the city, Zero began to get a slight grin on his face. Apparently he had concealed his true purpose in life, not even his programmer could tell now what his intention were, he had developed a conscious and a own mind, instead of following a path blindly thinking that this was HIS choice. The two of them got to the gates of the city, apparently the city had been put under Martial Law.

  


A lot had changed since the last time Samus had been to this place, even this world. She had been on many journeys and jobs for a long time. Only stopping by her base for a quick recharge or rest ever now and then. Samus stepped forward as if she was going to talk to the guard, but was rudely interrupted as Zero pushed her back and stepped up. Without consent to anything or anyone he reached to his back as he grabbed the hilt of his sabre. He brought it out as it glowed that dull silvery-black color as he swiped it through the air. With not even a yelp the guard was sliced in half, horizontally as Zero smirked, kicking the upper part of the body as he slid across the ground, knocking the upper torso into the air as he slid between the dead man's legs, guards coming to kill the attacker as he aimed his cannon at the upper torso, blowing it to bits as he leapt to his feet. Samus stood there completely shocked by the reploid's violent actions. Zero gave n mercy to these people as he rushed towards the three guards that came to confront him, he reached out as the one on his left as he crushed his throat. Using his own momentum he flung the man into the right guard and as the guard hit he fired off a plasma blast that incinerated them both. Still running towards the middle man he thrusted his sabre right through the middle of him, runnign with the man almost on him as he blasted his chest with his cannon and let the man turn into a shower of blood and entrails.

  


Samus gasped as she mouthed the word, "Oh my god…". Zero gave no consent to Samus, she was of no use to him now as he realised what his goal was, pressing his left foot hard towards the ground he bolted forward, lifting his right leg to gain more momentum as he leapt into the air, over the gates with amazing agility as he took off into the city.

  


Samus stood there dumbfounded as several more guards came rushing up to her, she shook her head lightly as one of the guards spoke to her. "Samus!? Is this your doing?", He asked her. She shook her head in disgust and confusion as she replied, "No…But the killer must be stopped." The other guards nodded and turned, running into the city with the newly opened gates, trying to stop the killer, not even formulating a plan, which is a bad move. Samus nodded to herself as she still seemed to be deep in thought over this man. She then burst into a run, not nearly as fast as Zero, but she ran into the city after him.

  


Meanwhile, Zero went running down the almost empty streets with his sabre glowing, guards rushing at the madman as he continued to pick them off, one by one. A merciless intent was in his eyes as he slashed the guards and even civilian to bits, blowing one up every now and then as he continued to run down the street, blood seeping down the street and roads as if it were red rain. The bloody footprints were all that anyone would ever see of him and remember as he ran down the street towards the central building where the mayor of the city lived. He burst through the doors as he grabbed one of the guards by the neck, sheathing his blade he grabbed the man's chest as he struggled against him. With no mercy Zero ripped the man's head and spine right out of his body, throwing the corpse to the side, he grinned a bit to himself, having lost any sanity that he had as he ripped the skull off the spine and wielded the spine as his new weapon and went towards the stairs of the building, guards seeming to run at him knowing they had no chance but with increased valor as he wielded one of they comrades spines. They ran at him as he grinned, shoving the spine through their chests, leaving them their impaled upon the spine as he dropped the spine and the guards and went running up the stairs, the staircase leading towards the mayor's office. The guards then began to shoot at him from afar. He laughed lightly to himself as he began to leap off the walls in an incredibly quick rate as he bound up the stairs and walls, the bullets missing him completely as he continued to blast the guards, the staircase now looking utterly red, and burnt from the plasma blasts. He then kicked down the door to the mayor's office. The mayor stood there trembling and frightened by the pyschotic and blood-stained reploid who he had seen coming from down the street, watching him as he tore civilians and guards apart, He ran up towards the mayor, grabbing him by his shirt as he ran towards the window facing the rest of the town as he saw samus running towards the building. He laughed again at this as he threw his arm forward, tossing the mayor out the window as the glass shattered and the mayor hit the ground with a thud, blood leakign all over the pavement as Samus looked up at Zero. Zero grinned as he narrowed his eyes at Samus, from the building.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Thus Ends Chapter 5 Of _'The Zero Factor'_.  
Stay tuned for Chapter 6. 


	6. Showdown!

  
  
**The Zero Factor...**   
_Chapter 6 - Showdown!_

  
  
  
  
  


Samus began to charge her cannon, knowing that she will have to take out this man she…she…did she? Yes, she was certain of it, she had something for Zero. Zero then pushed off the ground as he leapt out the window, drawing his sabre once more, a grin appearing on his face as he hit the ground, creating a small crater. Without any delay he burst from the small crater he made as he rushed Samus, almost upon her as she could hear his faint laughing, he adrenaline and emotions flooding into her brain as she shot blindly at the reploid. It hit Zero directly in his chestplate as he flew back several feet, holding his chest as the smell of burnt metal and blood filled her nose. Her eyes were clouded by the severity of the situation around her, she didn't even realize that this battle would be to the death. Zero then rushed at her once more, his chest smoking from the last blast she hit him with. He shouted at her as he sheathed the sabre, grabbing her arms as he tackled her to the ground, she yelped a bit as he knocked her back. She screamed in pain as a piece of her armour broke from the impact, lodging itself into her lower back as she shook violently to break free of the reploid's grasp. He liked to hear the pain of these humans, he had obviously gone maverick, which he was, a maverick version of the original Zero. He then threw his weight forward and tossed her into the air, She seemed to remember him doing this to one of the guards from what she saw from the ground. He then aimed his cannon at her as she turned in mid air, narrowing her eyes as she re-gained her composure and charged her own cannon, for the brief moment where she stopped going up and was about to go down he fired, She had her own cannon charged as the plamsa ball sped towards her, she yelled out as she fired her own plasma ball at his, they collided close to Samus as it burst into a ball of brilliant colors and flames. This explosion sent her further up into the air as she began to charge her cannon. Floating back down towards the ground she began to take the offensive, showing her skills as the most powerful bounty hunter in the galaxy. She grinned as she slammed her shoulder into his chest as she knocked him backwards, making him stumble as she lifted her cannon, still charging as she blasted him directly in the chestplate again, knocking him to the ground as she ran at him. She extended her leg as she slammed her foot into his side, knocking him into the air as she aimed her cannon up at him, charging it only slightly, she fired. This burst was different from her normal burst as she fired it and it let out a scatter shot, a homing shot that fired off about ten smaller blasts. The blasts homed in on him as it slammed him from all sides, creating a large explosion all around the reploid as he fell to the ground in a heap, breathing heavily.

  


He cursed at this under his breath as he kneeled there now, slowly sliding to his feet, panting and breathing heavily as he knew he couldn't win in this shape. He then stopped narrowing his eyes and snapped them wide open, rushing at her as he screamed "Kyaaaaa!" having his blade sheathed as he wrapped his arms around her. She struggled slightly, over-whlemed by the reploids supreme speed as he knocked her to the ground again, keeping a grip that she could not break, he began to tighten his hold as he began to squeeze harder on her armour, the armour cracking here and there as the metal shards began to puncture Samus' body. She screamed out in pain as the reploid activated his final attack, a kamikaze attack as his body glowed a dull silver for a second, exploding into a ball of brilliant silvery fire around her, knocking her back as there were cracks all over her armour now, the pain filled her body and mind as she stood up, realising this town was massacered. She couldn't save them and she unleashed a monster even though she didn't know. She shook her head lightly as she turned, barely alive she limped out of town, off to her next mission.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Thus Ends _'The Zero Factor'_  
  
~*~Thank you for reading.~*~ 


	7. Tale of Vengeance

  


**Tale Of Vengeance…**

  


This story takes place after '_The Zero Factor…_'. It is placed only about half of a year after the Zero factor had taken place, and after Samus pulled her life together, yet she struggled and was searching for the truth to the mystery of the man who had killed so many innocent people.

  
  


The light sound of her breathing came forth from inside the helm of her armour as she stood tiredly in that wasteland that was the hazardous mountains of Noldar. She shook her head slowly as he vision began to blur slightly, he voice trembling as she spoke to herself, being physically exhausted at this point in time of her search. "Damn, I thought that bum told me he saw some metal men up here. The Bastard…He must've lied." She then slammed her foot down towards the ground, causing a bit of dirt to fly up around her in a small puff of a cloud. She shook her head a little bit at this as she continued to climb the sides of the mountain; these paths not being very stable so she continued to go light and swift over the rugged terrain of this hellish mountain. As she continued onwards through the mountains a small gleam of light hit her visor as she looked quickly over to her left side, spotting a beam of light reflecting off the top of something, something far off, perhaps this was the place she was looking for? She didn't know but she turned her course towards the light, grasping the side of the mountain as she began to scramble over the rocks, weariness taking it's toll as she continued her ascent over the rocks until after a few hours she had finally made it to the large metallic structure that was there.

  
  


She closed her eyes as she fell to her knees, breathing in heavily, the air up in these mountains was thinner than ever, and her oxygen supply was running low so she had switched it to take in the air around her, this has been causing her to use more strength to move. Her hand slid to the ground as everything began to get blurry; She slid to her feet as she stumbled back a little, looking towards the double doors of the building as they opened slowly. Her eyes went wide at this because she had been fooled. Inside the building was a generator, one far more advanced than one she had seen herself. She quickly ducked to the ground as she could see that it was producing too much energy, it was about to explode, simply because the energy waves that were flickering outwards from it. Hitting the ground she covered her head with her arms as the generator reached its critical mass. Unable to bear the energy in for any longer, the energy was released in one burst as it engulfed her and the structure, pain racking her body all over as it overpowered her, knocking her out cold. As she lay there unconscious, the generator continued to pour out the tremendous amount of energy, the plasmatic energy becoming so incredibly great that the entire area where she was in, about the size of a football field was engulfed in this light. In one split second afterwards, it had vanished without a trace, and Samus along with It.

  
  


Samus had been engulfed in a time-rift split open by the extremely large amount of energy that was contained in such a small place, all the metal shards from the building crumbled around her. Laying on the ground in the middle of a grassy field she lay on her back now, knocked out, but unharmed except fatigue. Slowly her eyelids fluttered open. She coughed once as she looked up at the blue sky, but something was blocking her view, something very dark, she slid her right hand to cover the light that made this shadow appear as an illusion. As the figure came into her vision it was the face of a beast! A wolf like beast was upon her, or so it seemed. She drew in a breath of shock as she rolled across the ground, quickly leaping to her feet as she aimed her plasmatic cannon at the figure. It lowered it's stance and growled at her slightly as she then noticed two figures behind it, a tall man with spiky blonde hair with a fair complexion and a large broad sword. Also, there was a shorter, dark skinned man with baggy clothes and a cannon on his arm. The blonde drew forth towards Samus and the beast as he extended his hand ahead of the beast. His lips parted slightly as his voice came out, calm and cool, seeming like this was nothing very shocking for him as he spoke. "Red, Knock it off, I don't think this guy is a threat! He's not ShinRa." Red looked up at the blonde man from his crouching stance as he relaxed a bit and sat on his hind legs, looking back to the burly man as his gaze shifted back to the blonde once again. "Alright, If you say so Cloud." Cloud nodded to Red as he looked back towards Samus as he raised a slender blonde brow, extending his right hand towards the metallic person ahead of him. "Greetings, Sir, I am Cloud, This is Red and the man behind us is Barrett." Samus nodded at this, not really in the mood for battling, so she extended her metallic gloved hand towards Cloud's and grasped it slightly, shaking it a little as she looked at the three of them. "Call me, Samus." Cloud didn't seem to be thrilled about meeting her, or really caring if she was going to join them, attack them, or just leave. He shrugged as he began to speak with her once more. "So, Samus, Are you from Wu-Tai? Or did you just decide to visit here and get knocked out by something?"

  
  


She felt a tad bit of rage building in her system at this. She crossed her arms over her chest as she stood there, still not revealing herself to the strangers as she felt one thing from them that she didn't sense from most of the people she has met in her journey. She felt that she could trust them with at least the slightest bit of information on why she was here. Nodding she spoke back to them, her voice sounding to them like a muffled robotic voice due to the helm of hers. "I am here by accident…Listen, Why don't we go somewhere 'concealed' and talk about this?" Cloud nodded as he turned without another word and began to head north towards the small town that was in the distance of their sight, the town of Wu-Tai. Upon reaching Wu-Tai they finally entered Turtle's Paradise Bar as they all sat around the rather small table, being the only occupants at the time, the three of them had began to talk about Samus' journey and quest for the Robot that had slayed so many people on her planet. But about half way through the entire group had burst into the bar and walked over towards their three comrades, Tifa, Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Cid. Of course, Aerith would have come along with them but she had been slayed by sephiroth. After introductions were made, the party sat around the table. Samus began her story from the beginning as she told them about everything that had happened on her expedition to the planet up until Shadow had destroyed the entire town and turned it into a pile of rubble, blood, and guts. The party seemed slightly shocked that something could do something that horrible. Cloud smacked his hand down on the table as his voice rose up in fury. "I bet that bastard Sephiroth has something to do with this!!" He fumed with anger as Tifa and Cid attempted to calm him down by forcing him down into his seat and in a few minutes got him to quiet down. They then began to explain to Samus about Meteor and about Sephiroth, the Ancient and Jenova. Samus' drop about hit the floor with this amazing tale that they were telling her. She nodded and stood up as she grinned to herself, hearing about this made her want to battle this guy, just to see if the beings on this planet were as strong as Barrett and the others had said they were.

  
  


Heading out of Wu-Tai, The group began to head towards Midgar in the High-Wind. Like the group had planned on doing before hand. They were going to Raid ShinRa. As the high-wind approached the ShinRa building they were informed by their ShinRa spy that Diamond Weapon was heading for ShinRa. Agreeing that they should stop the WEAPON before it could damage Midgar and the inhabitants they landed the high-wind outside of Midgar as the party prepared themselves for battle against one of the many monster beasts that protected the planet from pure evil, but killed innocents instead. Samus spoke to Vincent as Cloud and the others were to take the front lines, the long range attackers staying slightly behind the others as Diamond began to approach. "Vincent, Was it? Do you think we can win against WEAPON?" Vincent only nodded at this but a moment later he spoke back to her as Diamond began to get closer and closer, the other preparing to cast their magic and send off their attacks as Diamond was now in battle range. "Yes. Let's go." Vincent then ran forward to the others as Diamon began to fire energy at them, scattering them as they ran to dodge the bursts, Cloud rushing up with his sword, which was virtually in-effective against it. Tifa couldn't do anything but heal as she ran away frantically casting protective and healing spells on Red, Cait, and Cloud who went head to head with Diamond. Vincent went to take his place beside Barrett as they began to unload rounds of bullets into Diamond's hide. Diamond roared in pain as the bullets began to cause Damage. Turning it's sights on Vincent and Barrett, Diamond began to fire energy waves at them all, Except the one who wasn't attacking it yet, Samus. Samus laughed to herself as she saw the group rushing around, trying to defeat the monster. She rubbed the blaster on her right arm as she spoke to herself. "Don't fail me now." She then burst into a run, head on towards Diamond as she burst past the energy blasts, moving past vincent and barrett as she began to draw the fire from Diamond, she quickly burst past Cloud and the close range attackers. She laughed as all the enegry was now concentrated on her this time, she dodged to her left and right, leaping this way and that as she dodged all the bursts. Reaching the base of Diamond she leapt into the air on it's knee as she began to leap up it's body, out of firing range as she finally leaped to it's skull. Leaping in the air from this point she saw as everyone began to assault it at once. She aimed her cannon downwards as she fired off a charged plasma blast at it's shoulder, causing some damage as the creature howled in pain. The creature began to retreat as Samus came crashing into the ground in a crouched stance. She slowly rose as she looked towards the horizon where Diamond began to fire off it's waves of energy, more powerful at Midgar. Midgar counter attacked by using the sister ray against the WEAPON as it pierced the creature's body and the energy hit midgar, demolishing some of it and hitting the top of the ShinRa tower, taking out a few floors of the tower in the process.

  
  


Cloud breathed in heavily as he looked to Samus and flashed a quick smile of victory as he spoke to the team. "Let's go guys, This is our only chance to break in!" They nodded and began to run over the landscape back towards the high-wind which lifted off and circled over Midgar in the matter of mere seconds after boarding. The team then equipped their parachutes as they went to the deck of the high-wind and pushed off the ground, leaping into the air as they flew towards the ground, fluttering through the air as their parachutes caught them and let them glide into the city. As they landed Cait Sith continued to lead them through the sewers of Midgar towards the ShinRa tower until they met up with the Turks. "Aha, We meet again! You guys are going down!" Elena said with her normal cocky accent. Cloud shook his head, he didn't need this senseless battling as he waved his hand in the air. Samus looking quite formidable in those confined spaces as she motioned for Cloud to move on. "Come on you three punks, Let them go and take ME on!" The turks looked to Samus now as the team burst past them, The turks had no chance of catching up with Cloud's group so they engaged combat with Samus as Samus rushed towards Elena first. Reno came in close with his cattle-prod like weapon as Samus avoided this, spinning her body as she ran full-force right into Elena, shoving her fist into Elena's gut, knocking her into the air as Elena whimpered in pain, almost knocked out from the tremendous blow as Samus leapt into the air with Elena. Samus extended her right leg as she smashed it into the side of Elena's head, sending her flying into a nearby pipe, knocking her out cold. Samus landed on her feet as she turned to face Rude and Reno who were by now, quite angry that she knocked out one of their allies. "You…You…Bitch!" As Reno shouted this he rushed Samus solo, a mistake that would soon be realized as Samus ducked and slid to the ground, as she slipped underneath Reno she extended both of her legs in one quick action, smashing Reno in the ground and sending him into the air, smashing his head into the ceiling as he fell to the ground in a heap of pain that paralyzed him from moving for quite a while. She slide back to her feet as she came to face Rude who cracked his knuckles and rushed Samus, quickly sending a fist flying towards her. She grinned as she grasped the fist in mid-air, clamping down on it with her own strength and slowly Rude's knuckles began to give way until she cracked it, a loud popping noise was heard as she closed her hand on the bloody mass which was Rude's hand. Without a word she kept hold and swung her leg through the air, smashing it into Rude's head as he went hurdling into the closest wall, knocked out by pain, even before he hit the wall.

  
  


The group had come to find out that it was none other than Hojo who had been controlling the cannon for the second shot. They continued to make their way up towards the cannon as they reached it and Hojo began once more to rant and rave about Sephiroth and revealed to them that he was none other than the father of the true Sephiroth. With this he began his assault on the party, Looking like a crazed Scientist, Vincent came forth with his rifle and sent a single bullet to pierce Hojo's heart as he hit the ground, quivering as his body began to shake violently. The body seemed to change as it began to grow and change color, morphing into a horribly deformed monster-like hojo as the party attacked him, smacking back the tentacle like hands as Cloud rushed in, piercing Hojo with his blade as he ripped it into the air, slicing him in half as he rushed back to the group. Hojo's body once more took to shaking again, He fell forward as the body began to reform, Slowly and little by little it had reformed to a more snake looking Hojo, like a Anthro beast as the party withdrew a few feet, Hojo had worn them all out with their attacks as they were all tired. Hojo then raised his hand as he began one of his powerful magic spells. The air wisped around him for a small amount of time as it suddenly burst out violently, His skull seemed to sink down towards his body as blood began to bubble up from the corpse, leaping off him with a blood stained boot was none other than Samus, a laugh was emitted from her helm as she looked to the group of worn out warriors. "Did you miss me?" She turned towards the cannon as she cursed, the shot had to be stopped. The party slowly ended up diverting the cannon's energy as they turned their sights north, sighing slightly as they knew that this quest was far from over.

  
  


Sephiroth lay beyond the northern lands in that crater which the beam that slayed Diamond revealed after eliminating the energy barrier. Days passed as the gigantic Meteor came closer and closer to the team's precious Gaia. Time was beginning to run out, Samus trained the warriors in a few of her moves and how to dodge more efficiently. The team continued this vigorous training until the fateful day came for them to go to the crater. Soon the high-wind approached the crater, landing outside of it as the team decended into the depths of this place. Slaying many monsters along the way the group split into several teams. Samus deciding she could handle her own, she dis-banned the group as they all slowly made their way towards the core of all the evil, towards that which was sephiroth. The team waited and waited but still there was no sign of Samus as they were at the last decent into the core of the planet to fight Sephiroth. Cloud led the brave warriors head on into the battle as they descended along the jagged rocks that floated by the energy of the life stream. After a long hard battle with another form of Jenova they seemed to fall downwards into the lifestream itself until they found what they wanted. Holy, the thing that would save the planet, the thing that they were yearning for. But Sephiroth was the problem, He was mocking them as his laughter filled their minds, their ears, their very being. Soon enough the shape of sephiroth appeared as the party engaged battle. Surrounding him the party began to assault his first form with barrages of slashes, gunshots and magic spells. The weary sephiroth smacked them away like flies, But being resilient the party countered with their own might, soon slaying the first part of Sephiroth. Light seemed to engulf them as the scenery changed to that of a divine heaven like land. Sephiroth in his mighty angelic form raised his hand as those cold Mako eyes glowed with hatred. He then began to summon the ultimate spell that he had in his arsenal as a powerful meteor slammed down towards the party, seeming to have lost all hope the meteor slammed towards them with vengeance. With a mighty shot of plasmatic energy Samus once again saved the party as she fell to the battle ground beside them and blew on her smoking cannon as the nova was blown away, her eyes narrowing at Sephiroth as his face turned to that of a beast in fright. Samus then burst past the others and ran straight towards Sephiroth as her armour began to glow a dull greenish color as she leapt into the air, energy charging all over his body as she pushed her own body forward, making her gain more momentum as she spun furiously "Screw Attack!!" She shouted as the plasmatic waves shot over her body, slamming right through the middle of Sephiroth, She landed behind him as she turned to face the party. She snickered to herself as the mighty angelic man began to disintegrate into nothingness.

  
  


As everything went black, the party split their ways as the energy from the life-stream engulfed Samus, shocking her violently as she hit the ground, spinning, faster and faster as lightning seemed to smash into the ground around her. Slowly everything in sight came into view once more as she was back on Noldar. She blinked at this, wondering what had happened. Was this a dream or did she actually go to that distant planet. Shaking her head she stood up and began to descend the mountains once more.


	8. SwordMaster Showdown!

  
  


**Sword-Master Showdown!**

  


The battle against Sephiroth has left Samus in awe of the many people she has met since the encounter with Shadow. Yet, She still continues on her search for the remaining metallic beasts that may be out in the cosmos, wanting the most to find out about the one she escorted to massacre the people in Japan. Thoughts swirl her head as she continues to search the vast reaches of the universe for the answer to her seemingly insignificant questions. Now continues her adventures in…**Sword-Master Showdown!**

  


Her eyelids seemed heavy as the next few weeks passed without a trace of information on the being called 'Shadow'. She located the planet called 'Gaia' in which Cloud and the others lived and planned on visiting them once her adventures were over. She flew through that vast emptiness called space as she kept firm on the controls. Her thoughts seemed to drift to different things as she leaned back against the seat of her ship, Her helm sitting beside the chair as she flew on. Her long blonde hair fluttered down over her shoulders and over the armour. Her head sank down for a moment as her eyelids fluttered, She was beginning to get tired. She heaved a heavy sigh as she looks up to the monitor, then to her map on the lower portion of the monitor, It seemed a lower-class inhabited planet was nearby. This planet read clear for her to breath without the use of extra oxygen supply from her armour.

  
  


She then changed her course for the planet as she began to fly towards it, Thoughts of Tifa and the others, along with Shadow crossed her mind. She wondered, Would she meet another unique being on this planet and have a small adventure here too? She let a small giggle pass her lips as she continued towards the planet, only a few minutes away from the atmosphere of the planet where she would have to concentrate on flying into the planet. She closed her eyes to think for the few moments she had. She giggled to herself as her mind wavered from here to there. She pictured herself on the planet, She was without her armour in her black spandex-like outfit as she leaned against a tall dark-haired man with large muscles. She held the dream man tightly and cuddled up to his rock hard muscles. But he then began to shake slightly and she snapped her eyes open, coming back to reality as she looked to the monitor, she must've dozed off and was entering the planet already. "Shit," She said to herself quickly and sharply. She then grasped the controls, manuevering the ship back to the proper angle she shot down towards the planet. Looking like a large fireball from the ground she blazed over the ground and slowed the ship down as she crossed over a large amount of grassland. As she came to a stop she was only a short walk away from a nearby forest. A Very large forest at that.

  
  


The land was very prosperous, and a large castle was in the distance which Samus could see from her location, she smiled to herself as she leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes as she dozed off. Distant blackness flooded her dreams, she continued to run and run but nothing was there, nothing at all, only a small knocking sound as she continued to run. She looked from side to side as she continued to run along the dark stretch of solid material which she thought was a path. The knocking began getting louder and louder, suddenly as the knocking sound sounded as if it were right next to her a flash of light engulfed her and she snapped open her eyes quickly, sitting up as she was sweating slightly. The moisture had caused her outfit to stick to her slightly. She panted heavily as she reached for her chest and clutched the armour as she looked around. The knocking sound was really there, something was banging on the ship with something. She grumbled as she grabbed her helm and put it on quickly, it locking into place with a small hissing and clicking sound as she leaped over the chair and got onto the lift.

  
  


The lift soon took her up through the top of the ship as the hatch closed around her boots, she stood on top of the ship as she looked downwards towards the noise. All she could see from here was a green hat and she still heard the banging noise. Pushing her right foot down she leapt into the air, over the thing that was banging on her ship as she landed about ten feet away from it, facing away as she soon stood up, she heard familiar words as she turned around to see a man as he wielded a sword. He shouted out violently as he pointed the sword at Samus, "Din's Fire!!" He screamed as a wave of flames barraged Samus' Armour. She raised her arms in a block as the fire raged against her and soon dissipated as she grunted and looked to the man wielding the sword and now a shield which he drew from his back.

  
  


She raised her hand as she shouted out from her armour, the voice hitting the man hard as he stopped his assault. "STOP! I mean you no harm!" The man blinked a few times as he felt as if he could trust this being. He nodded to her and sheathed his sword back on his back and put his shield back in position on his back also. The man walked towards Samus as he extended a hand towards her. "I'm so sorry. I thought you were one of Ganon's Minions that were remaining in hyrule." Samus laughed at this as she extended her own hand and shook his gently, "It's alright, I know you didn't mean to harm me. Besides, You don't look the type to hurt a lady." The man blinked a few times at this, he didn't understand, if anything, he thought this being would be a man, but, could it be a woman? He raised a brow at this as he crossed his arms, letting out a "Hmm…" To himself in question of the being now. Samus let out a chuckle, she threw her identity foolishly but she may as well prove it, She reached to her helm as she grabbed the sides of it, with a clicking and a hiss the helm came off with ease as her hair fluttered down around her armoured shoulders. The man looked at her in astonishment, not figuring she was a she. He blinks but then remembered that Princess Zelda had fooled him by assuming the persona of Shiek. He nodded to her as he spoke once more, a slight accent to him now that her hearing wasn't filtered by the helm. "My name is Link. May I ask yours, M'lady?" She smiled to him now, the purple orbs of hers flickering with contentment which she had not felt for a long time as she spoke, her voice sounding much more melodious than before when she had the helm on. "My name is Samus, Samus Aran."

  
  


Link smiled back at Samus as he turned towards the direction of Hyrule castle. He motioned for Samus to follow him as he spoke. "Come on, I'll take you to Hyrule Castle, I'm sure you would like to freshen up, After all, I'm not the type to be rude." Samus nodded to Link, not saying another word as she slipped on her helm after placing her hair back into her armour, It clicked back on with a hissing sound as she walked along with Link. Not even a few seconds after she had done that a familiar voice rang out against the cheerful nature of Hyrule. "BRAVER!!" Was heard as Link stumbled forward and slammed into the Ground. The Cool-Looking Cloud stood there holding his Buster-Sword as he swung it through the air and looked towards Samus, not understanding the situation. Samus gasped as she looked to Cloud. "H…How the hell did you get here!!" Cloud grinned a bit as he shrugged. "After you beat Sephiroth, I ended up in some mountains and managed to find you." Cloud breathed in a heavy breath quickly. "You were moving too fast so I followed you and snuck a ride in your ship, hoping you were going to return to the Crater so I could be back with the others…" He then shrugged slightly, "But it appears your not from the same planet as me…" Link growled as he stood back on his feet, turning to face the warrior who struck him when he was so defenseless. "You…You Disgraceful Man!" Cloud growled back at Link as he thought that he was a threat to Samus as he then rushed towards Link, Link drawing his own blade and shield as the two clashed quickly, Rushing across the plains of Hyrule as the exchanged blows, each one slamming into the other's blade. Then the two managed to come back towards the area near the ship as Samus watched this, knowing far too well than to try and stop them, men are men, they would have to battle it out and yell at each other until they could figure out that neither was a threat towards her or the other.

  
  


Cloud rushed Link after they cleared a bit of room between each other. Cloud screamed out a he brought his blade in a upward slashing motion, "Climhazzard!!" He bashed his blade into Link's as he raised himself and Link into the air as link went flying upwards, Cloud landing back on the ground. Link's eyes went wide as he fluttered above the ground about thirty to forty feet up as he gasped and aimed his sword down, it glowing with a dull red aura as he narrowed his eyes and screamed out, "Din's Fire!!" A wave of fire slammed through the air as it came toward Cloud. Cloud smirked as Link and the wave of fire came down towards him. He then reached to his side, grabbing two small gems as he brought his armlet up and took out the two red orbs that were there and put in the blue and green one he took out. He exchanged to a elemental fire combination in his armlet as he raised his left arm up, the fire being absorbed into his armlet as he felt a refreshing energy flow through his body. Link saw this and gasped, he had better think quick, he grinned as the sword began to glow a dull bluish color. He shouted out "Nayru's Love!" as a blue aura engulfed him from the blade. He came down quickly upon Cloud with his sword, meeting Cloud's own but having more power since he was falling as he quickly overpowered the mighty materia-warrior. He slammed Cloud backwards onto the ground and sent him flying as he swung his left leg out, smashing cloud in the chest.

  
  


Cloud grunted as he managed to get back to a normal stance as he sheathed his blade on his back as he narrowed his eyes at Link. "Fine then Magic Man, How about no blades!?" Link grinned, this was more than fine with him, he sheathed his blade and his shield on his back then tossed the two to the ground and Cloud dropped his sheath and blade also as he began to run towards Link. Link grinned, there wasn't anything about using any other weapon though as he quickly grabbed the long-shot at his side. He shot it outwards and seeming missed Cloud, Cloud smirked as he saw a opening and began to run faster. Not more than a few seconds later the Long-Shot began to come back, but to the other side of Cloud, Link had planned this. It wrapped around Cloud and began to pull him in towards Link as Link jut his fist outwards towards Cloud's face. He smashed his fist into Cloud's face as Cloud let out a yelp of pain as the Long-Shot let go of his clothing and retracted as Link placed it back to his side, Cloud stumbled backwards as Link rushed up with a quick knee to his stomach and smashed him backwards as Cloud fell on his back. It seemed as if the mighty warrior from SOLDIER was down and out but he slowly got back up as he shook his head a little. "Fucking Punk." He said with a slight bit of amusement, the two had lost sight of why they were battling now, Samus watched in Awe of their skill as the two continued their battle. This was it, Cloud would unleash one of his most devastating attacks her could possibly think of, the purple materia on his armlet began to glow slightly as he muttered to himself. "Let my speed increase to overcome this fool." The other purple orb began to glow slightly too as he muttered once again to himself. "Let my vitality become more than humanly possible…" (HP Plus + Speed Plus Materia) Link growled as Cloud then burst out running towards him, his speed being much faster than before, but Link decided to go with one plan that just might work. Cloud came in quick and fast as he slammed his fist towards Link's skull. Link quickly slided to his right as he reached to his side, grabbing one of the weapons he used as a child, a Deku Stick from the Deku Tree as he brought the mighty hunk of wood down upon Cloud and smashed him in the back of the head as the warrior collapsed upon the ground unconscious from the heavy blow as link twirled the stick then put it back on his belt.

  
  


A clapping noise was heard as Samus walked back over to Link and the K.o.ed Cloud. She whistled slightly at this and smiled from inside her helm. "Bravo Bravo, Link. But he was no threat, Let's take him back to this Hyrule Castle and fix him up. Then I have to take him back to his home." Link nodded to her as she walked over to him and lifted him over her shoulder and grabbed the sheath and blade of Cloud's then walked back towards Link and nodded. The two of them then set off towards Hyrule castle. But not more than a hour's time it began to get dark. Link gasped slightly, this meant the remains of Ganon's army would be out, the regenerating skeleton monsters. He then burst into a run and Samus followed as they spotted the Castle now in plain sight. The gates were still down but the torches began to be lit by the guards. The continued to run but the draw bridge began to come up as Link began to shout. "Wai--t!" The guards ignored this since it was their duty to lock up Hyrule Castle town at night. The three of them reached the moat as they looked up towards the draw bridge, no one was in sight as Link sighed a little, grabbing the hilt of his blade as he turned his back from the moat and drew his sword with a small growl. "Samus, Drop the warrior, I'm going to need some help…" Samus blinked at this, she didn't understand why she would need to sit Cloud down, it was only night-time. She shrugged as she sat Cloud down on the cement which started the road into Hyrule Castle Town. The dirt began to shake lightly as it burst into the air, Skeleton demons burst from the ground as Samus' eyes went wide. Link growled as he rushed the one skeleton. He slammed his blade into the ribs and tore upwards, ripping the demon in two as it fell to the ground and sunk back into the dirt. As soon as this happened, two more appeared behind Link, which he turned to face and drew his shield. The two skeleton blade came down on his shield as he held his ground barely. Two more burst up behind him as he gasped. No sooner than they started their assault, Samus ran in with a tackling motion and smashed them into the ground, smashing them into bits as they sunk into the ground. She cursed as one appeared infront of her, and two behind, She then began to fire off plasmatic beams as the skeletons fell left and right, Link slicing here and there as they barely held their own. Cloud lay there in a half daze as he awoke, watching the two fight as he spotted something else coming towards them, it seemed like a ghostly image of a old man or a old woman. He slowly got to his knees as he focused, a Poe was flying towards Link! Cloud grabbed the blade and sheath Samus had sat with Cloud as he strapped it on quickly, Rushing over the landscape as Link spotted the Poe coming towards him, He was already dealing with four skeleton knights and Samus had three she was fending off against. She screamed to Link as she spotted it, Cloud out of both their sights. "Link!! Watch Out! A Spectre is behind you!" Link growled as he smashed the two infront of him and turned to the two skeleton knight behind him.

  
  


Cloud rushed towards the Poe as another skeleton knight appeared by Link, catching him in a triangle like they did with Samus. Cloud raised his blade as he leapt into the air, Being high above the Poe he screamed out with anger as he brought his blade into a downward swipe. "Braver!!" He shouted as he sliced right through the spectre and fell into a crouching position, the Poe disappearing a flurry of flames. Samus and Link seemed to be relieved that Cloud was awake now as he rushed towards Link, Raising his buster sword as he took out two of the skeleton knights and Link took out the third with a quick swipe. Samus screamed as more and more began to surround her, they soon grabbed her arms and disabled her from using her cannon, now more than ten had her captured as Link and Cloud smirked to each other and turned towards the Skeleton Knights as they began to claw at Samus' Armour. She feared they may hit the emergency release switch on her armour which would leave her defenseless as he system began to sustain damage from the heavy blows. The two of them rushed into the group of skeleton knights as Cloud took out three at once with a wide arc swipe as crouched in his swipe, spinning on the ground as he came to face Link and Samus now as he watched. Link Leapt into the air as he mimed the very actions Cloud had done only moments ago as he cried out in anger. "Braver!!" He shouted as he brought his blade down in a swipe as he slammed into a skeleton knight then rushed upwards with another swipe. Once again he copied Cloud's technique he saw before as he screamed at the knight, "Climhazzard!!" The blade tore through the knight as if it were butter. This let Samus free as she back up and trampled two of the knights, leaving only around three knights left as she aimed her cannon and began to fire rapid plasmatic blasts into the remaining three as they fell quickly to her cannon and all the knights were absorbed into the ground.

  
  


The three were left panting as they stood there, tired from the battle which seemed endless as Link smiled up at Cloud. "Well then, I supposed you're a noble knight after all…" Cloud just smiled in return without a comment on that as they all went to the entrance to Hyrule Castle Town, Sitting by the moat's edge they began talking amongst themselves. The demon knights wouldn't be back for a little while since they eradicated them pretty badly and they would have to reform themselves. "So…Samus, Why are you here, in Hyrule?" Link asked with perked interest. Samus then explain to Link about other planets and why she was here, after meeting Cloud and that she was searching for the reason Shadow killed so many innocents and she strived for information on him. Cloud and Link stared at her in awe, the two seemed like little boys hearing a story about a quest for gold as they both stood up suddenly. "Wow!" They both said, thinking that Samus had a really exciting life as they looked at each other, laughing nervously as they realized exactly what they had just done. Cloud then spoke up as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well Samus…Would you mind if I accompany you on your quest, Since you did help me defeat Sephiroth." Samus looked to the ground as she began to think about this, a partner, she hadn't had one of those in quite a long time to her recollection. She made her decision as she looked back up to Cloud. "Sure." Cloud laughed a little bit, being slightly excited as the three of them went on talking for a little bit. Soon enough the sun's rays' peaked out from the mountain tops as the Draw Bridge began to lower and the three got up from their camping spot.

  
  


They were greeting was friendly by the Hyrulian guards as Link led them through town. Many people giving them odd looks as Samus and Cloud were dressed oddly compared to the Hylians. They then got to the Castle gates and Link assured the guards that the two were not going to harm anyone. After a small debate and Link getting a bit angry they were allowed to pass until the passed through the castle and came upon the courtyard where Zelda stand watching the birds that flew through the air as she smiled slightly at the three. "Well, Link, Who do you have with you now?" Link laughed a bit and pointed to Samus, "This is Samus Aran." He then pointed to Cloud and flashed a quick smile. "And this is the Knight Cloud Strife." Zelda nodded as she greeted them both. After the formalities the three split up, Link with Zelda. Samus and Cloud were led to their own chambers where they were allowed to freshen up, after several hours of rest and relaxation they were sent to the throne room where Link and Zelda sat on their thrones. It seemed Link was the King of Hyrule and Zelda the Queen. Samus quickly knelt infront of them, Cloud on the other hand had never been exposed to royalty and didn't care for rulers and stood there normally in his relaxed stance as Link laughed a little bit. "Samus, Cloud has the right Idea, you may stand up." Samus nodded as she quickly stood back into her won relaxed stance. Link then stood from his throne and took a few steps down towards the two warriors as he let out a small sigh. "I've come to a decision…" Samus blinked as she spoke back to him, not having any idea of what he meant. "Decision…On what?" Link laughed a bit to himself as he turned his head to look at Zelda who sat there smiling at him as he looked back to Samus. "I wish to accompany you on your quest to defeat the evil you seek." Samus seemed a bit shocked as she nodded at this. She stood there thinking as she wondered what she would do with another partner along the road, it'd be tight in her tiny ship though, but not too bad, she did have a few extra seats incase this kind of situation came along.

  
  


She nodded to him as she laughed to herself lightly. "Well then, I usually don't do this, but why the hell not." Link clapped his hands together in joy as he looked down at his two new companions. "Well then, We'll be off tommorow!" Link then sent them off to get more rest as the rest of the day passed, Cloud and Samus rested up in their own rooms as Link packed all his fighting gear that he needed into his Tunic as his guards roused Samus and Cloud early morning and they were sent to see Link once more, The three warriors were prepared now with Hylian tools. They then set off back towards Kokiri forest where Samus' ship was, Riding their brilliant Hylian stallions it only took them a little over a hour to get to the location where the ship was, compared to the few hours on foot. Link and the other dismounted as Link whistled and Epona and the others began to gallop back towards the castle. They then got onboard Samus' ship one by one, Samus taking seat in her place as the driver and the others taking place as passengers in the tight confines of this small ship. And so, The quest for the reploids continues on for Samus and her new companions.


	9. Facing the Facts

  


**Facing The Facts**

  


A few days had passed since Samus joined forced with the two warriors that continued along with her on her quest. They sat in that tight ship flying through the void of nothingness which is the cosmos. She was going to get the ship rebuilt so that it could sustain more than one person for a long period of time. Simply for the fact that she didn't like them breathing down her neck, and it may help her in the future when she became a lone wolf once more. The time seemed to fly as the three of them sat in the ship silent. Soon enough she reached the Beta-Zi 4 Space Docks. A cheery voice came over the intercom as Samus seemed to break away from her thoughts. "Well Hello there! I recognize you as Mr. Aran, Correct?" The voice said as Samus nodded to this, the visuals being slightly scrambled since the high-energy field the station produced. "Yes. This is Aran." Samus spoke with her normal, _I don't give a shit_ tone. The voice went silent for a moment and then it picked up once more. "Well…Er…Mr. Aran, Proceed to docking bay four. They will begin work on your ship right away. And…" The voice trailed off slightly as the visual came in for a moment, the cold visor staring dead at the cheery girl on the other side of the comm. "…Enjoy your wait." The voice then cut off quickly, the link deadening as Samus laughed silently to herself. Manuevering the controls, Samus piloted the ship into the docking bay just as the girl had told her to.

  
  


After they docked, Cloud, Link, and Samus exited the ship and set foot on the space station. Riding the automatic lift to the recreational quadrant of the station Link and Cloud began to talk to each other, Samus' min flickering as she thought to herself. She began to tap her foot lightly on the cold metal of the lifts floor. It came to a jerky stop, Cloud and Link moving forward a bit, almost falling. Yet, Samus stood her ground firmly. Once the door opened the three of them walked out of the lift into what seemed to be a bar. The musty smell of sweat and alcohol filled their lungs as they stepped into the place. This made Link cringe a bit, not being used to the smell and all. Samus turned to the men as she nodded to them. "You two, Behave, I have business I need to attend to." She spoke with no intention of them asking questions or to answer questions, she was returning to her more serious nature, she was beginning to think of Zero once more. Turning without a word she began to walk off, through another door and then she was gone.

  
  


Cloud looked to Link then shrugged once as he laughed a bit. "Well then, Shall we have a bit of fun?" Link nodded, not really wanting to speak in this place, for some reason he felt nervous. Cloud then walked straight towards the bar, Link following closely behind him. As the two reached the bar they sat down. The bar tender approached them with a quick grunt. This man looked like a bull to Link, though. Tanned skin, A large nose ring, and the bald head added even more of a sight to his large build. Link chuckled silently to himself as a grin spread across his face. Cloud blinked at Link puzzled for the moment but he then returned his gaze to the tender. "So, Boy. You need somethin'?" The tender asked Cloud this question without a hint of relaxation in his voice. Cloud nodded as he spoke back in return to the tender. "Ahh…Give me a shot of Raspberry Wine." The tender rose a brow, this was a great place the get your ship fixed but the selection of drinks was small, beer, whiskey, or vodka. His laughter roared out as he smacked his hand on the table. "Oh ho ho! That's a good one! Raspberry, Woo hoo hoo! Looks like we gots us a pretty boy here." Cloud grunted at this as he narrowed his eyes, he didn't like alcohol anyways. He instinctively curled his fingers into a tight fist as he looked at the tender. "Oh ho ho, Is the pretty boy getting mad? You wanna start somethin', Boy!?" Link looked over to the tender quickly with his sharp, piercing Hylian gaze. "Hey, Bull man, Why don't you knock it off, He didn't do anything to deserve your piss-poor attitude!" The tender then looked over at Link, a grin sweeping across his face as he heard Link's insult. This was something that he never liked being called, ever since he got his nose ring people called him something like that. He stomped his foot on the ground as Link blinked a few times.

  
  


Jutting his hand outwards he grabbed Link by the shirt, Lifting him up he threw him through the air and into a nearby table where it shattered, A small shout heard from Link as he came crashing into the ground. "Whoa ho ho! Look see there! We's got ourselves another little pretty boy, Tell me, Is he your boy friend?" Cloud growled as he reached over the bar, Quickly standing up from his place on the stool as he grabbed the tender's nose ring. He quickly looped his finger around it and pulled his hand back with such great force that it ripped it right out, blood splurting from the wound in the man's face. The man bellowed in pain as Cloud slid backwards, jutting his hand forward as he slammed the ring into the man's forehead, knocking the tender down behind the bar. He quickly turned and ran to where Link had just gotten up with a quick flash of a smile as Link smiled back. It was obviously giving the two a good time. Some of the men who were drinking at a small table near the back stood up as they began to walk over towards Cloud and Link, apparently they were angry over Cloud and Link's actions. There were three men, rather large in build, all of them having shaved head and wearing leather apparel, it seemed they were an inter-gallactic biker gang. One of the men rushed towards Link and Cloud first, before the other two would begin. Cloud and Link both jumped to the opposite directions as they smirked. This was the man's plan after all though. The other two rushed Link and Cloud, seperating them. Cloud looked up as a giant fist came hurtling right into his face, slamming him backwards as he slid across the ground in pain. Link was caught by a quick punch to the stomach as he was sent hurtling through the air and into a few more table as they quickly crumbled beneath the hylian's weight and momentum.

  
  


The two warriors quickly stood up after the assault, the three men smirked as they began rummaging through their clothes, quickly they retrieved pairs of bronze knuckles and put them on as two of them faced Cloud and the other one faced Link. The lone man rushed Link as the hylian warrior narrowed his eyes. Link ran towards the man but slid downwards towards the ground in a crouching position, He then flung his weight backwards as he caught himself with his hands. Pushing himself off the ground he pushed his legs up as he smashed them into the man's face, knocking him into the air. As Link continued upwards he quickly gained his control as he flew upwards into the air, executing a flip as the two men began to fall back towards the ground, Link being right side up. The other man was upside down, Link laughed as he extended his right leg and sent it out flying towards the man's face, slamming it into his teeth he sent the man hurdling through the air into a few of the barstools as the stools quickly bent and the man was knocked out. Meanwhile, Cloud was having problems of his own. The two men rushed at him as they both took swipes at him. The mako charged warlord smirked as he quickly backed up. Avoiding their punches as he soon bumped into a wall, cursing to himself he moved to the left quickly, rolling across the ground as he looked up, seeing Link knock the one man out quickly. The two other men looked over as Cloud regained his balance and made his way to Link, there now being a good sized ring to fight in since a lot of the tables in this area had been scattered. The two men cursed as they reached into their pockets of their Jackets, pulling out identical hunting styled knives. Cloud and Link nodded to each other as they reached to their backs, Pulling out their blades as they ran towards the two men wielding puny knives. They both leapt intot he air as they held their blades. Shouting out they brought their blades down simultaneously onto the men, "Braver!!" The blades slammed into the men with their flat edges so they wouldn't be killed. The sheer force of the impact upon the two men's skulls knocked them back as Link and Cloud rushed forward, like a mirror image of the other they thrust out their right knees in great force as they hit their opponent's in the stomach. The two bikers quickly came to their knees as they fell forward, knocked out. The two warriors laughed and patted each other on the back and soon regained their place at the bar, waiting for Samus.

  
  


After passing the door Samus began to walk down the long corridor where many rooms branched off. Her gaze was shifted upwards as she looked at the various signs on the doors, looking for the room she wanted. She finally saw it '_Smokers Lounge_' it read. She then grabbed the handle and opened the door, quickly entering it as she pressed the small button on the inside of the handle, locking the door as she looked up. A rather young looking woman sat at the table there, a cigarette in between her right index and middle finger. She let out a puff of smoke from her lips as she spoke to Samus in a cold, business voice. "Samus Aran, I presume?" Samus continued her walk to the table as she placed her right hand on it, looking the woman in the eyes. The cold tint of the visor reflecting the woman's face as Samus spoke in that metallic tone which all her contacts heard. "Yes. You have information?" The woman nodded to her as she waved her hand towards the chair. "Sit." Samus didn't feel like upsetting another one of her sources so she quickly pulled out the chair and sat down on it, scooting up slightly, laying her right hand back on the table. "Tell me…What do you know?" The woman nodded, a quick laugh escaping her lips. "Well, My sources say you did leave the money on your ship, Fine. I'll tell you all I know about this thing your looking for." Samus didn't say anything to acknowledge this she simply sat there listening, zoning out slightly, bored of talking about money but tuned in for anything that would please her senses. The woman seemed slightly shocked that Samus just sat there staring at her, she stuttered once with a word but continued her speech.

  
  


Her voice came out thin and seemed slightly calm about the whole ordeal. "This thing you are searching for, It is called a Reploid. Reploids are nothing more than robots with human emotions and judgement, Like a upgraded version of a android. These reploids were first invented by a Dr. Light, Who had built the Reploid named X. There was also a similar model built in that timeframe, probably by one of Dr. Light's partners named Zero. It was from the same time-frame judging from the data Scientists took. Anyways, It seemed that a Dr. Cain began to build these reploids after finding X in a ruined factory. The reploids were a success for that planet, until one day. Reploids began to rebel and kill their human masters, these Reploids were qualified as Mavericks. X and Zero were the original Reploids and they chose to deploy themselves as Maverick Hunters, along with other Reploid Hunters. Also, The Mavericks were led by a Rebel leader named Sigma, who appears periodically throughout their struggle. That's all the information I have been able to find. You will find that on your ship is a map of the solar system in which X and Zero's team is located. Also, there are several Data files on various reploids that I have managed to scavenge out of their databases. You may find those _interesting_." The woman then laughed once more. Samus took no notice of this and simply stood up, turning she moved to the door, turning the knob as it clicked into the unlocking position. She then exited the room and moved back down the desolate hallway as she reached the door once more. She pushed past the door as she walked back into the bar, looking around as she saw rubble from Cloud and Link's battle. She blinked once then began to laugh a little as she looked over at Link and Cloud. "Well, You two've been busy. Let's go." She didn't say another word. She simply moved over to the lift and pressed a button, the doors opening as the three of them stepped onto it once more. This time they would be tracking the source of the reploids now. The doors closed and the lift began to rise, They were off once again on their quest for knowledge.


	10. Enter Destiny

  


**Enter Destiny…**

  


Moving through the eternal blackness which was space, Samus, Link and Cloud sat there silent. Tension was in the air. The tension was so thick you could almost cut it with a knife. Huff Puff, Her breathing increased as the small blue planet came into view on her monitor, this was the planet where X and Zero were. The Reploid beings that had caused her so much turmoil. The sweat beaded on her brow inside her helm as they slammed through the air down through the atmosphere of the planet, shaking the ship ever so slightly. Flying through the air, right above the ground, Samus decided it would be best to land outside the city.

  
  


Soon the party moved out of the ship, beginning their small walk towards the city. Moving into the city, people gave them odd looks, especially Samus who resembled a Reploid. Glares were cast her way; it seemed that some people didn't approve of the reploids. The data that was sent to her told her the exact location of the Maverick Hunter Head Quarters. She moved towards the base as she stood outside the front gate blinking a few times, moving towards it as a voice came through on an intercom system. "State your name and business." Samus blinked a few times, keeping silent as the metallic voice spoke once again. "Samus Aran. I am here to speak with…Commander X, and Commander Zero." The voice then acknowledged her as the gates opened and they passed through it, moving swiftly into the building as a reploid woman walked to them smiling, "This way please!" The three warriors were led through several confusing corridors, as to make them lose their sense of direction, but Samus knew exactly where she went and exactly where she was going, she had the blue-prints in her ship after all. They were placed in a waiting room as the three of them sat there silently. Time seemed to pass on endlessly, consuming them as the door slid open once again, the three looking up at the same time in a hurry, seeing two reploids standing there in what looked like normal battle Armour. One was a tall Reploid who had no hair, but a helm on and was a light blue with darker shades of blue here and there. Beside the blue reploid was a taller red reploid with long blonde hair and a saber on his back with his arms crossed over his chest. Samus saw this one and stood up quickly narrowing her eyes at him. The blue reploid quickly slid in front of the red reploid as he narrowed his eyes. "Now, now…Mr. Aran, There is no need for hostilities. I am X, and this is Zero. It seems you have some pressing matters to attend to with us?" Samus nodded to this as her cold metallic voice poured out. "Yes. I have encountered a 'reploid' that resembles your friend Zero. I was assisting him on return to my home world and he destroyed an entire town…" X shook his head in disgust as he knew the handy work, cursing to himself. "It seems you ran onto one of Zero's clones created by Sigma. I'm terribly sorry for what has happened, but there is nothing more I can do for you, right now I am currently tracking Sigma, and am about to commence a mission to destroy him." Cloud and Link's eyes shifted to Zero as Samus addressed X. "Fine, We're going too." Zero stepped out from X's shadow as he shook his hand through the air as he looked to the two humans. "You can't, neither of your friends have the capabilities to fight a high powered reploid such as Sigma!"

  
  


Cloud and Link laughed to themselves as X turned on his heels, cursing to himself, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop them; he never was good with words. "Fine…But, Be careful. Mr. Aran, Come with me. Your friends will go with Zero. We will form two squads, Zero, and…The other two." Link cut in quickly to introduce the two of them. "It's Link, and his name is Cloud." X blinked once and resumed his sentence. "..Zero, Cloud, and Link will take on Sigma head on. Samus and I will move along through the corridors destroying the computer systems and crippling Sigma's defense force." They all agreed on this and soon split down the hallways, Samus and X moving to the right and the other three moving down the left. Samus and X soon reached a few of the hover bikes as they leaped onto them, X leading the way as Samus blazed across the ground right after him. The other three moved down the corridor to a small plane like device. Zero rushed into it as the two humans blinked but soon rushed in after him. The plane was piloted by a smaller reploid man as the plane lifted from the hangar and screamed across the landscape, heading out into the desert wastelands as it hovered over a small hatch in the middle of the ground. The three of them leapt from the small opening in the bottom of the plane, flying through the air as Zero aimed his Z-Buster down at the hatch and blasted it open, falling down through the blackness, this was a direct path to where Sigma was located. It would be much harder for the other though, since they had to make it to the control room.

  
  


Meanwhile Samus and X moved rapidly across the desert, running towards the factory on their hover bikes as the automated defense systems began to fire Lasers and Plasma blasts at them. Samus cursed as X and herself began to counter fire the blasts with their own, shifting to the left and right as they attempted to dodge. A laser blast hit the side of Samus' bike as she began to lose control. X's hadn't been hit but they were about to enter the factory. Rushing past the entrance of the factory, many maverick reploids began to emerge from the corridors of the factory; X knew it was a straight shot path to the Control room. Plasma blasts and gun fire filled the air as X's bike caught fire when it was hit, Samus' starting to flame also. The two of them leaped off the bikes as it slammed into a few nearby mavericks, blowing up and destroying the two, causing damage to the interior of the factory as flames began to well up around them as the factory caught fire. X rushed forward blasting the mavericks that got in his way. Samus ran a little behind him, catching any of the mavericks that popped out or the one's X didn't finish off. Soon enough they reached the control room, but there was a red flashing light as they looked around quickly, something else had happened. It was now set on a auto-destruct sequence. "SHIT!!! Aran!! Let's go…NOW!!!" X screamed as he turned on his heels and began to run as fast as his reploid legs would let him. Samus continued along beside him now, charging her cannon as she saw a row of Mavericks in front of them. Unknown to her X had been charging his X-Buster since they entered the small computer room, the two of them aimed their cannons at the same time and fired, clearing a path to the outside as they rushed form the factory, moving across the sand as the factory began to explode. Wisps of fire and shrapnel filled the air as Samus leaped into the air, grabbing X and pulling him to the ground as they covered themselves, the shrapnel and explosions filling the vicinity as small chunks of metal pinged off their Armour. Soon enough they stood up, turning around as they gazed at the blown up factory. X gasped for a moment, knowing that this factory connected to Sigma's true hideout. "No…Zero…."

  
  


…Meanwhile…

  
  


As soon as they landed on the cold ground, the room seemed to light up from its dim atmosphere. This was almost exactly like the room X had been in to fight Sigma when Zero had to destroy the control system, so many years ago. Zero cursed as a large cloaked figure stepped out from behind one of the computers. Laughing lightly as Cloud and Link drew their blade. "Had to get help…ZERO!?" It was sigma who was screaming as he threw his cloak at the two humans, rushing at Zero with his saber. Zero's eyes widened, Sigma had gotten MUCH faster than he expected. Zero cursed as he slammed his saber into Sigma's. Being pushed back by Sigma's superior strength. "FUCK!!!" Zero yelled. Link and Cloud tore the cloak apart as it flew at them, turning to see Zero scream small curses as Sigma rushed him. Knocking him back constantly until he slammed against the wall hard. Sigma laughed as he raised the blade, this time, there was no mercy for Zero. Cloud rushed at Sigma as he swung his massive blade at the maverick's skull, knocking him to the side, enough time for Zero to recover as Sigma's sight was now set on cloud, "FOOLISH HUMAN!" Sigma screamed as he rushed Cloud now, blitzing him with a fury of saber attacks, cloud barely able to get out a barrier spell to save his own life as the barrier shattered and cloud went tumbling backwards into a nearby computer, "GYA!" Sigma's line of vision returned to Zero now as he raised his blade, rushing at Zero in the same fashion, This time Zero ducked, aiming his blade upwards at Sigma's torso as Link executed 'Braver', that he learned from Cloud, once again, smacking Sigma's skull, making him lose his balance as Zero's saber cleaved about half of his torso off, a big hunk of metal falling to the ground as sigma gasped in pain. Turning to see only a Mako-Driven warrior charge him with a flaming blade, Cloud had cast Fire3 on his own blade as he came down on Sigma's skull, slicing it in half as he landed in a crouching position. Not even a moment's notice the voice of sigma came once again as explosions started to erupt from all around them, "Ha! HA HA! You fools! You killed my body! Now I'll kill YOU!" The place was self-destructing. The three of them looked to each other and nodded, Zero was to lead the way, The two warriors followed the quick reploid down a small corridor that lead to the outside world as explosions filled the air and they reached the outside, a huge fireball following them which sent the three of them flying through the air and crashing into the ground, slightly hurt.

  
  


Samus' gaze met the huge fireball in the distance as she saw the three warriors flying through the air and smack into the ground. X and Samus rushed quickly to the location as they were content at seeing their friends in one piece. Samus smiled at the charred warriors who seemed slightly dazed. "Okay guys…Time to go home."


End file.
